France is preparing to mark 10 years since terror attacks targeting satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket left 17 people dead in Paris. The three days of violence, triggered by the magazine's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, sparked worldwide debate about freedom of expression and religious sensitivities.
Commemorations will include a special edition of Charlie Hebdo, ceremonies led by President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, and tributes across France honouring the victims.
On 7 January 2015, brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people and injuring 11 others. A 12th victim was killed as the gunmen fled.
The attackers, who claimed allegiance to al-Qaeda in Yemen, said they were taking revenge for the paper's printing caricatures of the prophet Mohammed.
The following day, their associate Amedy Coulibaly killed a police officer in Montrouge, south of Paris. On 9 January, he attacked a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, killing four people after taking them hostage.
All three attackers died in shoot-outs with police.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the French art director Joachim Roncin created the slogan "Je Suis Charlie", which became a logo that was adopted by advocates of freedom of speech, who took to the streets in rallies throughout France to support the concept.
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Special events
The magazine will release a special double issue on Tuesday featuring results of a competition asking readers to draw God, alongside a poll on French attitudes towards religious caricatures, blasphemy and free speech.
“They didn’t kill Charlie Hebdo,” said editor-in-chief Gérard Biard in a recent interview with the AFP new agency. “We want it to last for a thousand years.”
The magazine says the competition is intended for everyone who is fed up with living in a society directed by God and religion.
"The idea is not to publish anything, it's to publish everything that makes people doubt, makes them reflect and to ask questions so they do not end up closed in by ideology," said Riss, a cartoonist who survived the attack.
French TV channels plan special coverage, with the public France Télévisions hosting an event featuring Charlie Hebdo staff, terrorism experts, teachers and artists at the National Library of France.
In northeastern France, high school students have collaborated on a special edition of Charlie Hebdo Grand Est, a newspaper to be distributed in schools.
The National Audiovisual Institute (INA) is also showcasing archival footage of the events online.
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Legacy of provocation
Since its founding in 1970, Charlie Hebdo has been known for pushing the boundaries of free speech, often attracting censure for its provocative tone.
Critics accuse the magazine of Islamophobia, pointing to caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that some argue associate Islam with terrorism.
Free-speech defenders in France regard the ability to criticise and ridicule religion as a fundamental right acquired through centuries of struggle to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church.
In December 2020, 14 people were convicted for helping the Kouachi brothers and Coulibaly plan and carry out the attacks.
“The fact of choosing victims precisely because they were journalists, or a member of the security forces, or of Jewish faith, clearly demonstrates in itself their desire to sow terror in Western countries,” the presiding judge told the court.
